Collapsible container

ABSTRACT

A collapsible cargo container which in the expanded state is in the form of a commodious box, and in the collapsed state assumes the form of a relatively small pack. The container is constituted by matching front and rear rectangular frames for supporting a front door and a rear wall, the side walls of the container being hinged to the sides of the rear wall and being inwardly foldable against the rear wall. Hinged to the upper corners of the front frame is the top wall assembly of the container, and hinged to the lower corner of the rear frame is the bottom wall assembly. In the collapsed state, the two frames lie in face-to-face relation, the top wall being folded against the rear wall, the bottom wall being folded against the front door, and the side walls being folded against the rear wall whereby all of the walls lie in parallel relation to define a small pack.

United States Patent 1 Cipolla [451 July 17, 1973 COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER [76] Inventor: Henry E. Cipolla, 245 W. 75th St.,

New York, NY. 10023 [22] Filed: Aug. 19, 1971 [21] Appl. No.: 173,039

[52] U.S. Cl. 220/6, 217/14 [51] Int. Cl 865d 7/26, 865d 9/14, 865d 85/18 [58] Field of Search 217/14, 4 C; 220/6, 220/7 {56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,673,769 6/1928 3,527,340 9/1970 3,527,339 9/1970 1,012,277 12/1911 Rapoport 217/14 Primary Examiner-George E. Lowrance Attorney-Michael Ebert [57] ABSTRACT A collapsible cargo container which in the expanded state is in the form of a commodious box, and in the collapsed state assumes the form of a relatively small pack. The container is constituted by matching front and rear rectangular frames for supporting a front door and a rear wall, the side walls of the container being hinged to the sides of the rear wall and being inwardly foldable against the rear wall. Hinged to the upper corners of the front frame is the top wall assembly of the container, and hinged to the lower corner of the rear frame is the bottom wall assembly. In the collapsed state, the two frames lie in face-to-face relation, the top wall being folded against the rear wall, the bottom wall being folded against the front door, and the side walls being folded against the rear wall whereby all of the walls lie in parallel relation to define a small pack.

5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures Patented July 17, 1973 3,746,203

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ISA i 6 1e) 5'. C/POLCA BY T 7 M A TWA E) Patented July 17, 1973 8,746,203

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lSb I NVENTOR. Have) 6. C/Poauq Patented July 17, 1913 3,746,203

4 Sheets-Sheet 5 I88 [76' ne Arro'e/Ysy Patnted July 17, 1973 3,746,203

4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Q\\\\\ mm;

, INVENTOR.

f/e vey E. C/FPOLA COLLAPSIBLE CONTAINER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates generally to cargo containers for shipping goods and more particularly to a collapsible container which in the expanded state is a commodious box, and in the collapsed state assumes the form of a relatively small pack.

In formulas for determining freight charges, both the volume and weight of the loaded container are taken into account. Hence the charge for shipping a cargo of goods is determined not only by the weight of the container and its contents, but also by the dimensions of the container. On the return trip, with the container empty, the freight charge is lowered to the extent that the weight factor is reduced, but the charge is still substantial in that the volume of the load is still unchanged.

In order to effect significant economies in shipping costs, it is known to provide collapsible containers which in the collapsed state are markedly reduced in volume. The difficulty with collapsible containers of the type heretofore known is that the strength of the container is not nearly as great as that of a standard non-collapsible container. Hence the collapsible container, particularly when roughly handled, has a limited life so that the savings effected in return shipment are offset by replacement costs. Also, should the collapsible container fall apart in transit, the goods may be damaged. Moreover, collapsible containers of the prior-art type are relatively complex and difficult to erect and collapse.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the foregoing, the main object of this invention is to provide a light-weight collapsible container of high strength, which container is capable of carrying a large and heavy load in the expanded state and which, when collapsed, forms a small pack which may be conveniently shipped at low cost.

More specifically, it is an object of this invention to provide a box-like collapsible container of the above type, all of whose walls lie in parallel relation in the col? lapsed state whereby the resultant pack has a slab-like formation and occupies relatively little space.

Still another object of the invention is which to provide a container of the above type which may be quickly and easily erected or collapsed without the use of special tools.

Also an object of the invention is to provide a collapsible container which may be mass produced at relatively low cost.

Briefly stated, these objects are attained in a collaps ible container including matching front and rear frames for supporting a front door and a rear wall, the side walls of the container being hinged to the sides of the rear wall and being inwardly foldable there against.

Hinged to the upper corners of the front frames is a top pair of rails supporting a top wall, and hinged to the lower corners of the rear frame is a bottom pair of rails supporting a bottom wall, the arrangement being such that when the two frames are brought together, the front frame rides toward the rear frame on the bottom rails, and the rear frame rides toward the front frame on the top rails until the two frames are in faee-to-face relation at which point the top rails may be folded down to place the top wall against the rear wall and the bottom rails may be folded up to place the bottom wall against the front door, thereby creating a portable pack.

OUTLINE OF THE DRAWING For a better understanding of the invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following detailed description to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein: I

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a collapsible container, in accordance with the invention, the container being shown in the expanded state;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken in the vertical plane indicated by line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken in the transverse plane indicated by line 3-3 in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows, in perspective, a corner detail of the container;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken in the horizontal plane indicated by line 55 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view which is the same as FIG. 1, except that the side walls of the box are shown folded in, which is the first step taken prior to collapsing the container;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the container with the front and rear frames thereof brought together, which is the second step taken prior to collapsing the container; and I FIG. 8 shows the containerr with its top and bottom walls folded, thereby completing the third and final step effecting full collapse of the container.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, there is shown a collapsible container in accordance with the invention in its expanded state. The container is in the form of a commodious box including a rectangular front frame, generally designated by numeral 10, and a matching rear frame 1 l. Hingedly mounted on front frame 10 are the two leaves 12A and 12B of a door, and fixedly attached to rear frame l], is a back panel or wall 13. The side walls 14 and 15, of the box are hinged to the sides of rear wall 13, so that they may be folded inwardly thereagainst, as shown in FIG. 6.

Secured to the upper corners of the front frame 10 are a pair of angle-iron.brackets 14A and 14B, which project rearwardly from the comers and are pivotally connected to a pair of top rails 15A and 15B supporting the top wall 16 of the box. The pivoting connections are effected by pivot pins 14A (FIG. 1) and 14B (FIG. 2). Thus the top wall assembly formed by the rails and wall is hinged to the front frame.

Secured to the lower corners of the rear frame I I, as best seen in FIG. 5, and projecting forwardly therefrom, are a pair of brackets 17A and 178, the brackets being pivotally connected to a pair of bottom rails 18A and 18B, supporting a bottom wall 19. the pivoting connections are effected by pivot pins 17A and 178. Thus the bottom wall assembly formed by the rails and wall is hinged to the rear frame.

Each of the upper and lower rails, such as rail 18A, shown in FIG. 4, is provided with a channel member 20 adapted to receive a pair of wheels 21 and 22 rotatably mounted on the associated frame at the corner thereof, such as the lower right corner of frame 1]. the purpose of this arrangement is to facilitate the travel of the frames on the rails associated therewith.

' Thus as shown in FlG. 7, to collapse the container, front frame and the door leaves lZA and 12B thereon ride on lower rails 18A and I88, whereas rear frame 11 on which the rear wall 13 is supported, rides on upper rails 15A and 158. When the frames are stationed at the free ends of the raiis, the box is fully expanded, whereas when the frames are pushed toward each other, they reach a point where they lie in face-toface relation. in which state front frame 10 engages lower brackets 17A and 17B and rear frame 11 engages upper brackets 14A and 148. In this condition, it be comes possible to fold down rails 15A and 15B carrying top wall 16, and to fold up rails 18A and 18B carrying bottom wall 19, as shown in FIG. 8. 4

In the pack or collapsed state shown in FIG. 8, all walls of the box lie in parallel relation to define a slablike assembly occupying only a fraction of the space re quired of the container in the expanded state.

adapted to protect the contents of the container.

in practice, latching means (not shown) are provided? to maintain the container in the expanded or collapsed state. To complete the assembly, a bridging strip 23 is extended between upper brackets 14A and 148, which covers the two frames when in face-to-face relation and collapsed state assumes the form of a relatively small pack, said container comprising:

A. matching front and rear rectangular frames which in the expanded state are in spaced parallel relation, and in the collapsed state lie in face-twfaee relation,

B. a front door hingedly supported on said from frame to afford access to said box,

c. a rear wall fixedly supported on said frame,

D. a pair of side walls hingedly supported on the ends of said rear wall, said side walls in the collapsed state being foldable against the inner surface of said rear wall,

E. a top wall assembly hingedly supported on the upper comers of said front frame, said assembly in the collapsed state being foldable against the outer surface of said rear wall,

F. a bottom wall assembly hingedly supported on the lower corners of said rear frame, said assembly in the collapsed state being foldabie against the outer surface of said door, and

G. said top and bottom assemblies being each constituted by a pair of rails supporting a top wall and a bottom wall respectively, the ends of said rails being hingediylconnected to the corners of the associated framej,-said frame being ridable on said rails.

2. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said frames are formed of high-strength metal and said door and walls are formed of plastic sheeting.

3. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said front door is formed by a pair of leaves.

4. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein the I upper corners of the front frame are provided with a pair of brackets projecting rearwardly therefrom and the lower corners of the rear frame are provided with a pair of brackets projecting forwardly therefrom, the rails of the assemblies being hinged to said brackets, said brackets embracing said fr'ames when the frames -lie in face-to-face relation.

corners of the frames to facilitate said'riding action. 

1. A collapsible container which in the expanded state is in the form of a commodious box, and in the collapsed state assumes the form of a relatively small pack, said container comprising: A. matching front and rear rectangular frames which in the expanded state are in spaced parallel relation, and in the collapsed state lie in face-to-face relation, B. a front door hingedly supported on said front frame to afford access to said box, c. a rear wall fixedly supported on said frame, D. a pair of side walls hingedly supported on the ends of said rear wall, said side walls in the collapsed state being foldable against the inner surface of said rear wall, E. a top wall assembly hingedly supported on the upper corners of said front frame, said assembly in the collapsed state being foldable against the outer surface of said rear wall, F. a bottom wall assembly hingedly supported on the lower corners of said rear frame, said assembly in the collapsed state being foldable against the outer surface of said door, and G. said top and bottom assemblies being each constituted by a pair of rails supporting a top wall and a bottom wall respectively, the ends of said rails being hingedly connected to the corners of the associated frame, said frame being ridable on said rails.
 2. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said frames are formed of high-strength metal and said door and walls are formed of plastic sheeting.
 3. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said front door is formed by a pair of leaves.
 4. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein the upper corners of the front frame are provided with a pair of brackets projecting rearwardly therefrom and the lower corners of the rear frame are provided with a pair of brackets projecting forwardly therefrom, the rails of the assemblies being hinged to said brackets, said brackets embracing said frames when the frames lie in face-to-face relation.
 5. A container as set forth in claim 1, wherein said rails include channel members and further including rollers receivable in said channels and mountEd on the corners of the frames to facilitate said riding action. 